Blood sucking parasitic infestation on animals has been a continued problem in the art. While the variety of the blood sucking parasitic infestation varies in different parts of the world, e.g., lice, ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, tsetse flies and the like, all of these blood sucking infestations share the common hazard of a potential for spreading of disease. Accordingly, considerable effort has been expended in the art to control such parasitic infestations on animals. None of these methods known to the prior art have been entirely satisfactory.
One method of controlling such topical parasitic infestation is that of applying a liquid to the animal in the form of a shampoo, kip or spray, wherein the liquid contains ingredients which are toxic to the parasites. Notable among the ingredients of such liquid preparations are petroleum distillates and coal tar derivatives, such as cresol. Such liquid preparations are, however, inconvenient to apply and represent a substantial hazard to the animal, particularly in regard to accidental ocular contamination. This is particularly true since these liquids must be copiously applied to the animal.
Another approach is to dust the animal with an insecticide containing dust, e.g., a dust containing Carboril. While this method is more convenient and in many cases more effective than the liquid preparations, the dust is relatively easily removed and must be relatively frequently applied. Additionally, while such insecticides are generally safe, they do present a level of toxicity to the animal and free use thereof cannot be continued with impunity. Further, with continued use, many insects, through evolution, develop immunities to those insecticides and the effectiveness thereof in the dusting powder considerably decreases.
Another approach in the art is to apply to the animal a solid plastic material containing a vaporizable insecticide. This solid plastic, referred to as a generator, continously releases vaporizable insecticide and the vapors, next to the animal bodies, will control the insect infestation. However, this method in the art is only partially successful, since the vapors rapidly dissipate in air and for larger animals the concentration of the insecticide vapor around the entire body is not sufficient for control of insect infestation.
Intestinal and urinary parasites are treated with a variety of medicines, but these are generally not only toxic to the parasite, but have some considerable toxicity to the animals.
Accordingly, it would be a substantial advantage in the art to provide a method of treatment of animals suffering from blood sucking parasitic infestation wherein the treatment is convenient to use, is essentially non-toxic to the animals, will control parasitic infestation over and in the entire body of the animal and does not cause evolutionary changes in the parasites whereby immunity ultimately results.